A Life of Scales and Sunlight
by Funky In Fishnet
Summary: JF post-finale. Camille contemplates what she lives for now. CamilleJarrod


_**Disclaimer**__: None of what I write of is mine; it all belongs to the House of Mouse._

_**Author Notes**__: Because I think Camille and Jarrod were excellent complex villains and I wanted to take a look at what happened to them after the series ended. I hope you like it. Please let me know what you think._

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**A Life of**** Scales and Sunlight**

He intertwines their fingers in his sleep, his head pillowed on her lap. Camille pauses, hand hovering and eyes slanting over her shoulder. Dai Shi hated to be touched, but Jarrod seeks her out. It's something she is still growing used to. She likes it.

Jarrod remains on his guard around others. He doesn't want to leave here again, not yet. He feels the darkness of what he did. But with her, everything is open.

He said it's because she knows him, what he's done, but she stays anyway. Of course she does.

She chose to follow Dai Shi because she was confident that it would bring her power and victory. What more could any warrior want? But she chooses to follow Jarrod because he reached out through Dai Shi's stranglehold and saved her life. Because he cared for her. It was a difference she had never known before.

He stirs, his hand tightening around hers. It's a familiar movement, coming from the nightmares he's suffered since Dai Shi left him. She smoothes his hair cautiously, hating that anyone can see this moment and think less of them, and bends close to his ear. He'll never be alone again. She waited centuries for Dai Shi; she'd wait even longer for Jarrod.

Her own fingers are liquid with familiar green scales, basking in the generous sunlight. Jarrod has told her he doesn't notice a difference between her human skin and chameleon scales. She feels the same way about his fur and claws. It is him, and that has become all that matters. There is no separation.

Her other hand has found its way into the pond. To Camille, it's the most beautiful place in the Academy. It's also where Jarrod finds it easiest to relax, out under the open sky. It's the third time this week alone he's fallen asleep here. Always with Camille beside him. Pride fills her at the thought.

Her own nightmares are full of a life without him, first Dai Shi then Jarrod. Who would she be then?

She'd sworn loyalty until death to Dai Shi, the only bond that mattered. This is different. It is warm, alien to her cold blood, but it is also inviting. Like the sun on her scales. She wants more of it.

"I told you I was a great judge of character," Lily had whispered after the smoke cleared.

Jarrod is waking now. Blinking in the sunlight as his body tenses, looking for a threat that isn't there. But then he sees her, his fingers soften against her skin and scales and his frown is suddenly a tiny relieved smile, almost unnoticeable. She made that happen. It makes her smile too. A secret expression that only he ever gets to see.

"What time is it?" he asks.

"Almost feeding."

Then it will be the last class of the day. She can feel the cool breeze off the water, ruffling her hair. It mingles with Jarrod's scent – sunlight and earth and still a thread of blood, like he's been hunting. It's easy to detect in the Academy. She is likely as easy to find, though he is the only one to know it. That is a victory she holds privately close.

Theo shakes his head whenever he sees the two of them together, always side by side. Sometimes it raises familiar hackles, other times Camille fights the instinct to blend into the crowd. But Jarrod grasps her hand and so she stays and everything evens out again. Lily looks at them knowingly and Casey is always glad to see them. Camille doubts she will ever understand them. The Rangers are children. Full of ridiculous naive ideas and so very young. Yet they have been welcoming, despite all that occurred, and she won't move out of the room above the pizza restaurant without a fight if things change again. It will be her choice now.

There is so much to adapt to in this new life, but Camille was made for such a task. Jarrod keeps his hand in hers. She has never wanted anything more.

_-end_


End file.
